Welcome to the New Age
by Conduitassbutts
Summary: Life for eighteen year old Maisie Archer was simple, just how she liked it. That is, until she discovers she's a Conduit. And now she and her father are on the run. The pair decide to travel to a city far away from their hometown to stay safe - that city is Seattle, Washington. They have no idea what they're getting themselves into...
1. Prologue

I had never thought much about how crazy the world was getting. I just figured "Hey, maybe someday the craziness will die down and we'll all be singing songs around the campfire holding hands," but obviously that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

These days, you've got three kinds of people.

You've got the freaks, people that were born with a little something special within them. The Bio-terrorists are outlawed, considered monsters. As far as I know, there hasn't been any good news involving them, only news of people getting hurt.

Then we have the soldiers, or more commonly known these days as the D.U.P. Their organization was formed with one goal – to dispose of the Bio-terrorists, one way or another, by any means necessary.

These two groups have been at each other's throats for seven years now, and so far the D.U.P. has had the upper hand in the fight.

And then there's the civilians, caught in the middle of it all. People are living in fear, and with morale at a massive low, everyone just wants an end to the fighting and chaos.

Which begs the question – who are we _really_ meant to be afraid of? The Bio-terrorists? The D.U.P.? Or both?

And me? I have tried my best not to take sides, to stay neutral. Life is stressful enough without having to worry about who's a freak, or how many people have been hurt. I like my life simple.

But no one's life can stay simple for long, and in my case, it'll never be the same again.


	2. Chapter One: Origins

When I think of how I wanted to spend my senior year of high school, I had nothing extravagant planned. After I had graduated, I was going to take some time off – maybe go on a holiday to somewhere like Alaska or Colorado.

But, knowing me, I'd probably never get around to it. I'd just stay home, sit on my ass and go on YouTube or play video games and waste my life that way.

"Maisie."

My gaze flickers from staring aimlessly out the car window to my father's face.

"We're nearly out of Idaho now," he informs me, a yawn following his words soon after.

My dad, Lucas, is a very rugged looking man. He has dark hair that is always messy and swept back, and dark stubble that was turning into a grizzly beard. He is also heavily built. Tired grey eyes glare at the road in concentration. I didn't inherit this eye colour – instead I got my late-mother's light blue. Something Dad was grateful for - he tells me often that it's like a part of Mom living on - or something close to that, I guess.

My mom died during childbirth, so my dad has had to bring me up on his own. He does his best to raise me, teaching me right from wrong at an early age, since he used to be a cop. I've never gotten into much trouble thanks to his guidance.

Well, that was until yesterday.

* * *

><p><strong>000<strong>

I was walking home from school, like I usually did every day. My emotions at that moment were on edge – it had not been an easy day. First I had worked my ass off on an essay for English, only to get a C – after all that work and staying up late, and it was a damn good essay too. And to top it off, a specific group of assholes had decided it was a brilliant day to annoy the _living shit_ out of me. Pointing and laughing, purposely knocking my things off my desk, making comments so rude that would make Dad want to bring out his shotgun if he heard them. And knowing him, he would do just that – bless his overprotective little soul.

I walked around the corner to take my normal route home, but came to a stop mid-step as I took in the sight in front of me.

"Well great," I muttered irritably, sighing loudly. "How fricking convenient."

A small group of D.U.P. soldiers had set up a checkpoint, creating a long line of impatient, uneasy people that reached from down the end of the street to where I was standing, which was right on the corner. I saw people stepping up to get their hands scanned while the soldiers watched them like hawks.

"Okay Maisie, think." I looked around for a shortcut around the checkpoint – what was the point in waiting around? I was clean. I didn't carry the Conduit gene. Plus I had to be home by five or Dad would have my hide. "Ah! There we go."

An alleyway on the right just halfway down the line of people was my way out. Gripping my bag tighter, I made my way around the people, sticking to the walls of the buildings so I wouldn't bump into anyone. Rounding the corner, I hurried down the alleyway. It wasn't too creepy. Okay maybe a little bit creepy – oh who am I kidding? It was dingy and smelly and it was one of those long, winding alleys so yes, it was _creepy_.

The problem with me going down this particular path though, was that this alley was where some of the kids – namely the assholes I mentioned previously - from my school liked to "pass time" and by pass time I mean their either smoke or drink which normally leads to them thinking they're drug dealing rappers when really it's just a bunch of white dudes acting like pre-pubescent children.

I had hoped there would be no one there… but I had terrible luck.

There were three boys sitting around on some tipped over garbage bins and two more leaning against the wall, accompanied by two girls who I assumed were their girlfriends. Their gazes were locked on me now.

A boy with blonde hair and a sly grin spoke up first. "Hey Archer, wanna join us?" He held up the bottle he had in his hand, offering it.

I shuffled my feet to the side. "I'm fine, thanks anyway, Connor," I answered flatly, giving him a blank stare. "A bit early to be drinking, isn't it?"

Connor merely rolled his eyes, jumping off the bin and strolling leisurely towards me. One glance over his shoulder and his two friends from the wall followed his footsteps.

"Maisie, you're so uptight," he crooned, stepping closer to me. I took a large step backwards. "You need to chill out, _relax_."

"I do fine 'chilling'," – I raised my fingers to make quotation marks – "on my own, actually."

Connor and the others just laughed. One of the two boys behind him took a step towards me, looking me up and down as if he were sizing me up. "Forget it man, she too much of a frigid bitch to lighten up."

"Probably because Daddy Dearest is a cop," one of the girls piped in. "The dumbass probably never lets her have any fun."

I glared at the girl with all I had. "Why don't you watch your damn mouth about my family, bitch?"

Connor raised his hands in defence. "Woah there! Now _that's_ not how a cop's little girl should be talkin' now, is it?"

He and the two other boys took more steps closer to me. One of them reached out and shoved me backwards. My back hit the brick wall forcefully. I let out a pained grunt on impact. "Back the hell off, Connor," I growled, straightening myself back up. A painful tingling feeling in the palms of my hands was starting.

"Oh come on, Maisie!" Connor whined, now uncomfortably close to my face now. I could see the reddened whites of his eyes, and smell his really terrible breath. "We we're just having some fun!"

One of the boys on the bin – Kane, I think his name was – raised his hand. "How about a vote. All those in favour of messing with her dumb ass some more, raise your hand?"

Connor, along with the rest of his friends, raised their hands high. He looked back at me with a smirk that made me want to slap him. I considered calling Dad – but he was fixing up his truck at the moment, so he wouldn't even make it in time anyway.

"Well, the jury has spoken," the girl from earlier chimed in, sneering at me. "Show her whose boss, Connor."

He merely rolled his eyes before turning back to me, taking a calculated step closer. The tingling feeling was getting worse. It was like the pain was crawling up my arms and digging into my skin. Connor motioned the boys forward. One pushed me down so I was bending over while the other had taken a fistful of my long wavy black hair and pulled it backwards, angling my head upwards.

"You know no one likes you, right?" Connor murmured, before balling his fist and hitting me square in the face.

I let out a small whine, trying not to make any noise – I didn't want to give the bastard the satisfaction of hearing my pain.

"I have tried." Another hit. Just above my right eye. I felt a sharp pain start to form where he had hit me, then warm liquid flowing down from my eyebrow just barely missing my eye. "I have tried to see you as a normal person. But I just can't. You know why?"

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look up at him. He tilted his head to the side slightly. My pulse started to quicken, the burning pain building and rising even more as I became even more scared.

"You, Maisie Archer, are just too much of a freak to fit in with the rest of us. You don't belong."

I took the opportunity to spit the pooling blood in my mouth right in his face. He cried out in surprise, rubbing at his eyes. While he was distracted, I took the chance to reach my arm around and hit the dude holding my hair right in the crotch. The pressure from my hair was gone, replaced by the stinging at the roots from the pulling. I dropped my bag to the ground so I could move around easier.

The dude I hit in the crotch was on the ground, holding his area and rolling around like a baby. The other guy came at me, taking on a boxer's stance, hands raised to his face like he was in the ring. He threw a punch directed at my face, but being under the influence made him miscalculate his aim so his fist collided with my shoulder instead. Seeing how close he was to my body I decided to head butt him.

It was effective, but a _baaaad_ idea.

I held my forehead while I cried out in agony. The boy had fallen to the ground, presumably knocked out by the blow.

I felt someone's hands wrap around my upper arms, yanking me to my feet. Then, another impact – I think they threw me into the wall again. I tried opening my eyes, but everything was blurry. I faintly heard someone yelling at me.

"Leave me alone," I whispered hoarsely, trying to focus. The pain was getting unbearable, I wanted it to stop, preferably now!

The voices were getting louder – I assumed it was Connor and his buddy I hit in the crotch. I saw two blurry shapes getting closer and closer. I could hear laughing.

"I said _leave me alone!_" I raised my right hand, shielding my face from the oncoming blow. It never came.

A series of things happened next, blurred together as if it happened all at once in slow motion. The pain on my palms suddenly disappeared. The feeling of relief that it was gone at last. A strange crackling noise like a window or an icy lake breaking up. Next, the sickening squelching noise and a choked up scream. And finally the screams of horror.

I opened my eyes – I really wish I didn't, looking back on it now.

There was Connor and his friend, still standing up, with glassy eyes staring vacantly into the distance. Blood pooled from Connor's mouth like a small gushing fountain. I tore my gaze from their faces, and looked down. Thick shards of ice, almost like spears, surrounded me, the largest ones embedded into the abdomen and neck of Connor and his friend.

"Holy shit, she's one of _them_," I faintly heard Kane whisper in horror.

"No, no, no! I -" I couldn't finish my sentence because I stared down at my hands. There were small flecks of ice on them, literally creeping out from my skin. _I did this._

Then one of the girls screamed. "We need to get help! The D.U.P. is just around the corner-"

I forced my legs to move. I snatched my bag up from the ground, shoved my way past the horrified looking kids and ran as fast as I could away from the scene. I _had_ to get home.

It was official then. I was now one of the freaks – a Bio-terrorist.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that was a lot of words.<strong>

**So, I hope you guys liked the first chapter of the story - it seriously took me ages to getting round and uploading the damn thing. Life lesson - procrastination gets you nowhere kids!**

**So the "000" thing is for when there's going to be flashbacks - and there will be a few. But the flashbacks are necessary as it will explain parts of her character, past etc.**

**It was a wee bit hard writing the fighting scene - I haven't even attempted writing anything like that ever, so it was hella awkward. Anyway, thank you for reading and following this little story. So yeah!**


	3. Chapter Two: Brooding and Puns

And that's how it all started. Now I'm being hunted by the DUP, along with my father.

Hell, I'm still surprised by his reaction to all this.

**000**

* * *

><p>When I got back to our house, I had ran straight to the garage – he had only just finished fixing his truck. He slammed down the hood, only glancing up slightly to give me a small smile.<p>

"Hey Darlin' how was school?" Dad asked, wiping the grease off his hands.

"Um, it-it was fine," I replied shakily, trying to hide the fact that my voice was breaking. I failed completely at that. I could still feel the ice flecks emerging from my palms.

"Hey, I was thinkin', maybe now that I've got the truck fixed up, we could go on that hiking trip we talked about last week," he said chirpily, his back facing me as he rummaged around in a toolbox for God-knows-what.

I frowned, pulling one of my hands out of my pockets for a couple seconds – the ice was still there _damn it why won't it go away? _"Oh, really?" I ask, shoving my hand back into my pocket.

"Yeah!" he turned and faced me, a stupid dumb ass grin on his aging bearded face. "Maybe, we could also do some hunting again – you said yourself you've been dying to get back out there…"

I couldn't focus on what he said next. I was too busy trying not to panic over the fact that the ice was slowly seeping up my arms, almost to my elbows.

"May, honey what's wrong?" Dad asked me, his smile had turned into a concerned frown.

He took a step towards me, reaching out. I flinched away. "Something has… happened," I mumbled, barely audible.

"What are you talking about? What has happened?" he asked urgently. He abruptly grabbed my shoulders, his eyes scanning my face. "Did someone hurt you?"

"There were these kids from my school, assholes," I began, not making eye contact. "They started pushing me around in an alley while I was on my way home."

Dad sighed loudly, clearly irritated. "May I've _told_ you many times to _call me_ when shit happens, you know – "

"Yes, _I_ _know_ alright, but that's not the point!" I argued. "The problem is that two of the bastards are dead and it's my fault!"

This seemed to shake him. He released my shoulders and stared at me blankly. "Dead? What even – what the _hell_ do you mean it's your fault, May?"

To answer his question, I merely took my hands out of my pockets and raised them for him to see.

I will never forget the look of dawning horror slowly spreading across his face as he stared at the flecks of wispy ice that seemed to grow out of my hands.

"I don't know how it happened," I told him in a flat monotone voice. "One moment I was getting my ass kicked, screaming for them to stop, and then – well, I just –" I sighed, the panic rapidly returning. "I just snapped, I guess. I _honestly_ don't know how this happened, but it did."

Dad, meanwhile, was silent as I spoke. He was mouthing incoherent words that I couldn't understand, trying to get a hold of himself.

"You're a Conduit," he finally mumbled in a quiet voice.

I nodded numbly. Oh God, he was surely going to hate me now. "So… when are you gonna call the D.U.P.?"

Dad spluttered out a strange, angry sound. "I ain't calling anyone," he said in a snarl, his gruff voice frightening me.

"So what's going to happen now?"

He turned away from me suddenly, running both hands through his hair shakily.

"Dad?"

Nothing.

"Dad?"

Still nothing.

"Say something, God damn it," I growled at him. Just give me an answer already! I remember thinking.

Finally, he lowered his hands from his hair, planting them firmly at his sides. Slowly – at long last – he turned around, a blank, determined expression on his face.

"Go to your room, Maisie."

I blinked, not knowing where this was going. "Uh, why?" I asked dumbly.

Dad let out a loud, frustrated sigh. "Go to your room and pack your shit. We're going."

**000**

* * *

><p>And that was that. And here we are, fleeing from our home.<p>

"How much further till we get there?" I ask.

"Probably another four, maybe three hours," Dad replies.

I nod, pursing my lips together. I can't help but think to myself over and over again, "You don't have to do this, you don't have to throw your life away to help me." I stay silent, continuing my brooding.

Dad sighs. "Okay kiddo, what's up?"

"Nothing," I reply.

"You sure about that?"

"Yes," I groan in frustration. Why must he nag about this now? "I am _fine_, okay?"

"Cut the bullshit, May, you've been all quiet since the moment we got out of Idaho! Now tell me what's buggin' you or so help me -"

"Okay, fine!" I argue, my voice raising a few octaves like a whiny kid. "I'll tell you, just calm the farm down. Sheesh dude…"

"_Thank you_."

I lean back into my seat, turning my gaze out the window again. "Okay, well… shit how do I say this?"

"Take your time," Dad reassures me.

I take a deep breath. "It's just… I don't get why you're helping me – ah! Before you start," I say, as he was about to interrupt, "what I mean is, well… most people would most likely freak out or hell call the D.U.P. if they found out that someone they knew was a Bio – um, Conduit." I have to remember to correct myself from now on. _Conduit_, not Bio-terrorist. Even though I might as well be a terrorist, considering the fact I slaughtered someone with my power.  
>I clear my throat and resume speaking. "You could have done that, call the D.U.P. You could still live your normal daily life before all this crazy shit. Why didn't you?" My voice grows quiet toward the end.<p>

Dad narrows his eyes, thinking deeply. For a moment I thought he wouldn't reply, but then he says, "Because you're all I have left." He pauses, then continues to speak. "After your mom died, I promised I would take care of you, and I ain't about to give up my only child to the D.U.P. so easily."

"Oh," is all I can manage to say.

The car is silent for a good ten minutes. Shit, I really am lucky to have my Dad on my side through this crap. If it weren't like this, maybe he would have gone all ex-cop on my ass and hand me in. He was still pretty respected by his old workmates and boss, so it could have been easy.

The silence is getting awkward now. Way to go Maisie, I think. You sure know how to make shit awkward as hell.

But, I have an idea to remedy that.

"Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?" he replies, his grey eyes darting from the road to me, then back on the road again.

I clear my throat dramatically. "Did you hear about the guy who couldn't juggle?"

He sighs loudly, knowing where this was going. "No, what about him?" he asks, playing along.

"It's not that he didn't know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it," I tell him, a smirk slowly creeping onto my face.

I have a thing for looking up shitty puns and jokes, committing them to memory and then relaying them all to Dad. I finished playing _The Last of Us _a few days ago - which was amazing - and long story short, I fell in love with Ellie's puns. Add my own crude and sometimes morbid sense of humour and innuendos into the mix and boom - you have a recipe for disaster.

He snorts, trying to suppress his small laugh. "That's awful, Maisie."

"_You're_ awful," I retort, giggling.

Dad's smiling now. "Here's one for you – people who say they suffer from constipation are full of shit."

I laugh, my smirk replaced by a grin. "Dude that's horrible. I love it."

He merely chuckles, turning his attention back to the road once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Well this took a while to get around to. Sorry about the wait - I have been busy as hell with a whole load of examsassessments for school, as well as some other issues. So this update was on hold for a while. But now that at least half of my stuff's been sorted, I finally got around to uploading this.**

**This chapter was going to be longer, but the next half that was originally going to be in it will be in chapter three instead. But now I've kinda established what kind of relationship Maisie and her dad have.**

**Next chapter coming will finally have some action in it. May will finally get to kick the D.U.P.'s ass!**

**Thanks to everyone that reads/has read this small little story! Any questions about anything send 'em my way!**


	4. Chapter Three: Woah, We're Halfway There

"Well, shit," Dad sighs, his mouth turned up into a snarl as he says the word "shit".

The reason why? Because we've just reached a road block set up by the D.U.P.

"Great," I moan, throwing my head back so it hit the head rest on my seat. "What do we do now?"

I narrow my eyes as I look through the windshield at the scene in front of us. They have D.U.P. officers patrolling up on some kind of archway set up a little way down the road. The other officers have cars lined up and were strolling up to each window, scanning the drivers and passengers.

"Dad, what are we gonna do?" I hiss. There was a D.U.P. officer only two cars ahead of us coming our way, scanning and checking the people inside the car they were at.

Dad turns his head sharply in my direction. "Maisie, calm down," he warns. "Freaking out isn't gonna do shit to help us right now."

My eyes widen for a second, then close. I let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry, you're right." Dad was right – freaking out wasn't going to help us get pass this. We had to come up with something.

And fast. Because the officer is now one car away from us.

"Okay okay, so say they end up scanning me," I begin, speaking in a hurry, "what do we do? Should we fight our way out? Because that seems like the only option there is right now."

"We may have to," Dad agrees grudgingly. "Unless I floor it and try and make it pass them…? No, they have those concrete powers, they'd just snipe us before we even got pass the checkpoint."

I wrung my hands, biting my lip. Looks like fighting is our only way out "You could try, while I fended them off for you," I offer.

"May, you don't even know how to fight with your powers yet," Dad says, giving me an "Are you serious?" look.

I shrug. "I guess I gotta learn sooner or later."

"Just whatever you do, _don't_ let them scan you," he says in a low voice. "Then they'll have your results and figure out who you are."

The D.U.P. officer is making their way to us now, going around to the driver's side, tapping on the window.

I brace myself, trying not to look on edge (and probably failing entirely). This is either going to work, or be a piss poor plan.

Dad rolled down his window. "Everything okay, officer?" he asks in a polite tone.

"Routine check, sir," the officer replies. He glances from Dad to me, then back again. "There was an incident a few miles away from here involving some bio-terrorists."

Bio-terrorists. Plural. So they don't know about me yet – thank _god_.

The officer readies his scanner. "Please hold out your arm, Sir."

Dad holds out his arm, fist clenched tight. He shows no emotion on his face as the officer scans him at his wrist. There's a beep about six seconds later, and the officer mutters, "Clean," in a quiet voice.

I roll down my window as the officer comes around to my side, tensing up. It was now or never.

"Hold out your arm, Miss," the officer says in a monotone voice like before. He sounds like he _really_ just _loves_ this job so much.

I slowly bring my arm out of the window. As the officer is rolling up my sleeve, I channel enough energy to send a flurry of ice his way, knocking him back a few feet. I open the door and slam it behind me in a rush.

"Go, I'll distract them!" I shout to Dad. An alarm has gone off now, and all the attention was on me.

_Greaaaat_. Just peachy.

Dad uses this distraction and floors it, moving around the other cars lined up and speeding pass them. Some of the D.U.P. focus on Dad, but the majority have me in their line of sight. One charges at me, shrapnel surrounding its hands glowing a faint yellow hue. I dart forward – or more like, mist forward? That sounds dumb though – I'll call it… an ice dash? Yep. Ice dash it is.

So, I ice dash forward, circling around the officer. I swirl around him in a circle, skidding to a halt soon after. Looking over my shoulder I see I've encased him in a thick layer of ice, from his shoulders down. Neat.

I make a bee-line for the next D.U.P. gunman. Skidding to a halt once more, I raise my hands palms-forward and shoot a stream of icy shards into his abdomen. His lifeless body fell to the ground, slightly twitching from the shock. It reminds me a bit of when I killed Conner and his friend… _Okay May, don't think about that now_.

I feel a vibration in my jeans' pocket. It has to be Dad, it can't be anyone else. Quickly ice dashing away from another round of gunfire, I pull out my phone and answer it.

"I'm kinda busy right now!" I hiss frantically, channelling up another flurry of frost into the direction of the D.U.P. officers.

"I've made it," Dad's voice buzzes through the phone. "I'm at a hotel with a giant green and red neon sign outside it, it looks like a clover, you can't miss it. I've rented a room. Meet me there."

I let out a little hysterical laugh. "_Where_ is there, exactly?"

"Seattle. It's not too far from where you are. Hurry."

The line goes dead.

I put my phone back in my pocket. I peer around the sign I've taken shelter behind – there's way too many of them out there. "Okay, time to make a run for it," I say to myself, mostly just to calm myself down a bit.

Moving around the sign, I take a deep breath, and ice dash my way around and through the D.U.P. gunmen waiting for me. I feel a bullet whizz past my ear, barely missing its mark. I just hope I make it to Seattle in one piece in all honesty – or at least with some slight scratches and bruising.

* * *

><p>Well... this has taken a while to get around to.<p>

So... this chapter's quite short, pretty much just a filler chapter. I've been busy with school and some personal stuff. The next one will be up and soon a familiar face will be making an appearance. Anyway, thank you for reading and liking this story, and I apologise for not keeping up with it like I should have been. :)


	5. Chapter Four: Welcome to Seattle

Finally having escaped from the D.U.P, I find myself in the cold, soaked from the rain, standing in front of the hotel with the giant green and red neon sign outside it. I pull out my phone and dial Dad's number.

He picks up ten seconds later. "Did you make it?" he asks flatly.

"Barely," I reply in the same flat voice. "I'm outside the hotel, what room are you in?"

"Don't worry about it - I'm coming out to meet you now."

The line goes dead.

Sighing, I lean against the wall of the building. It's slightly sheltered from the rain so that's a bonus I guess.

A couple minutes later I hear the front doors of the hotel open, and the tall figure of my father walks toward me. When he's within arm's reach he put both hands on my shoulders, his eyes scanning my face. "Are you hurt at all?"

I give a weak, tired smile. "No, I'm fine," I say. "Can we just get inside? I'm freezing my ass off."

We make our way into the hotel – which, thank God, is way warmer than it is outside with all the damp and the rain.

Our hotel room is well, as good as you'd expect from a cheap hotel. There's a bed, which I presume is my dad's, then the kitchen and a TV a few feet away from it. Walking down the tiny hallway, I find another room – small, but it'll do, I'm not too fussy anymore. And straight across the hall from my room is the bathroom.

"Change out of those wet clothes, kiddo," my dad says. "You look like a drowned cat."

"Gee, thanks Dad," I reply, sarcasm literally oozing from my voice.

He leaves me to it. Closing the door, I strip out of my soggy clothes. Surprisingly, there's isn't any blood stains like I thought there'd be, considering I've been shot and all. I change into a pair of striped blue and white pyjama pants and an oversized PlayStation t-shirt.

I glance over at the mirror by the small little table in my room. My hair is twice as curly then usual now thanks to the rain, god damn it.

I walk out of my room and into the lounge/kitchen/bedroom. "So, what's next?" I ask, sitting down on the bed.

Dad holds a hand up to silence me, his eyes glued to the TV. I follow his gaze and listen to the news broadcast currently on TV.

"See that? What do you make of it?" Dad asks.

I shrug. "Umm, a crazy case of vandalism?" I guess.

He snorts. "Well, there's that, but there's a big problem – how the hell can anyone get up that high and tag the flag?"

"It's locked up isn't it? The Space Needle, I mean."

"Mhmm."

I make a face, my lips twitching to the side in a scrunched up way while I frown. I swear I'm not in control of what my face does. "So, best guess is that there's a… Conduit tagger?"

Dad nods. "Most likely. The police report has a statement written down about the fallen D.U.P soldiers that were up there. Some of the bodies had third degree burn marks in the shape of a handprint."

Damn. "Sounds like some kind of fire Conduit, maybe?"

"I agree, and – get this – one of the surviving soldiers said that the Conduit ended up launching himself into the air above the Space Needle and crashed smack down into it, wiping out the whole team including one of their creepy concrete lieutenants."

How the hell did he survive if everyone got wiped out? I voice this thought to my dad, who simply says, "He ducked behind something in time."

Nodding, I look away from the TV and stand up, stretching a little. "So, what's the plan for us?"

Dad reaches for the remote and turns the TV off. "What do you mean, May?"

I shrug, feeling uncertain. "Well, what happens to us now that we're in Seattle? Are we just gonna lay low and then move on to somewhere else? Do we have plans in this city or what?"

He sighs, rubbing his face with both his hands. "I have no clue honey, I'm just as lost as you are on what we're doing."

I glance down at the floor, suddenly finding the texture of the carpet interesting. "I really am sorry about this, y'know."

"Don't be. You had no idea of all this," Dad comforts me, now looking serious. "Sometimes shit happens."

I nod dumbly. I let out a loud yawn. "Okay, I am absolutely tired after today's bullshit, I'm going to bed."

"Alright kiddo, you got get some rest. We'll talk in the morning."

I wave as I leave the room, barely clinging onto consciousness. "G'night."

"Goodnight honey," Dad replies.

I enter my room. I pull the blankets over and get into the warm comfy bed. Pulling the blankets over myself, I pass out the moment my head hits the pillow.

* * *

><p>I end up sleeping in a lot longer than I planned to. Dragging my ass out of bed, I rummage around in my bag for some decent clothes. Not caring about my appearance at all today I pull out a black plaid button up shirt and a red shirt with a palm beach design on it, a replica of Ellie's shirt from The Last of Us.<p>

Yes, I'm fully aware I love that game way too much but hey, it's a damn good game.

I put those on and grab a pair of warm black leggings, wriggling into them as I make my way to the door.

Dad's already up, or sort of, unless you count lying in bed on your laptop looking like you've just come back from the dead as "awake".

"Morning'," I greet him, tying up my curly mop of hair into a sloppy ponytail. "Whatcha doing?"

"I am going through the police database," he replies in a sleepy voice.

I open the fridge and pull out this tiny little bottle of juice. "How the heck can you get back onto that?" I ask as I'm turning the lid. "I thought you couldn't log back into that stuff once you quit."

He smiles. "I can't, but I have a couple contacts in the police force – old friends, I guess."

I nod, taking a long sip from the bottle. "Okay then, so, what's the plan today?"

Dad reaches behind him and grabs a file, handing it to me. "I've been doing a little bit of research, about Prime Conduits, and apparently, there's these things called Core Relays."

"Core Relays?" I ask, taking the files from him. Reading through a few of the pages, I begin to see what he's on about. "So, these Core Relays are like, power upgrades or something?"

Dad nods.

"Huh, well that's handy," I quip cheerily. "Where's the first one?"

"Pioneer Square, by the docks," he informs, rising from his seat and strolling off toward the bathroom.

I clap my hands together cheerily. "So! I guess that's me off then," I say loudly. I head towards the door.

Dad spins around. "Hold your horses for a second, May!" he splutters. "I want to give you something."

I pause, my hand still on the doorknob. He rummages through a bag and pulls out this sheathed dagger. Since when the fuck did my father have a dagger? I have no clue, but it's pretty awesome.

He walks over and hands it to me. "Use it only for emergencies," he cautions me, a serious expression on his face. "I wouldn't give this to you if I didn't think you weren't capable of handling it."

I take the dagger from him. It's steel, titanium to be exact. A ray of light shines dimly as I turn the blade over in my hands. "Thank you," I tell him, giving him a small lop-sided smile. "I promise I'll be careful – with the dagger _and_ the Core Relay hunting."

Dad smiles back. Still looking worried, but a smile nonetheless. "Alright then, now go."

I grin back before rushing out the door.

* * *

><p>The Core Relay isn't even guarded by D.U.P, which is a plus for me. I sat perched up on a rooftop just across the road from the docks, surveying the scene. Sure, there wasn't any D.U.P around, but there were some men with guns. Drug dealers? Probably.<p>

I stand back up, walking backwards slightly. Getting into a sprinting position, I race towards the edge of the building, jumping off it. I then push my hands out at either side of me, palms facing down, and I start to glide down. It's like a… Ice Glide, maybe? Eh, Ice Glide it is.

Landing gracefully on my feet, I make my way to the Core Relay. I see some drug dealers up ahead, who look on edge. "Maybe it's just 'cause of the drugs," I mutter to myself quietly. But the dealers are glancing around the place, like they're expecting something. Or someone. Or just for anything bad to happen spontaneously.

"Okay, here it goes nothing," I say, before going into an Ice Dash and rushing toward the dealers and the Core Relay they're guarding.

Startled, the dealers raise their guns and start shooting. The bullets go straight through me, since all I am right now is a flurry of ice and snow. Materialising back into my normal self, I unsheathe the dagger Dad gave me. I faintly know how to use a dagger – and by faintly I mean not very well. So God help me.  
>One dealer makes a move, swinging his fist toward the side of my head. I dodge and with a forceful twist of my wrist I bring the dagger down into the guy's ribcage while I'm ducking. He staggers down and I kick him away from me into another dealer.<p>

I Ice Dash around the two dealers onto the next one. He aims his gun at me, firing twice. The first shot misses, while the second bullet lodges itself into my hip. I cry out in pain, bringing the dagger in my hand close to my chest, blade pointing outward. I feel my power surging through into the blade and with a loud slightly desperate cry I push the dagger out in a lashing motion. Gushing blood flows from the dealer's chest, small icy shards embedded around the inside and outside of the long gaping wound.

He too falls down. With a fair few of the dealers down, I run over to the Core Relay. It's a giant glowing metal box. Like, that's literally what it is. "Okay, now how the fuck do I break you open?" I grumble.

And then it hits me. The best and dumbest idea ever. Raising the dagger and channeling more energy into it, I bring the now ice coated blade down onto the glowing box. First attempt only made a dent with a few sparks flying out of it.

"Okay Maisie, one more should do it," I mutter, before bringing the dagger down again.

And then I find myself being thrown back by a wave of energy as the Core Relay explodes, bits of the box flying everywhere. Finding my feet I approach hesitantly, holding my hand out.

Aaaaand… nothing.

"You have got to be kidding me," I hiss. I wave my hand over the bright, glowing blue energy again. Still nothing. Sheathing the dagger I fumble around in my jacket pocket for my phone. Scrolling through the contact I find Dad's number and dial it.

It takes five seconds for him to pick up. "Any luck?" He asks.

"Nope, not at all," I reply irritably, tucking a stray curl behind my ear. "It didn't work."

I hear him sigh. "Damn it, well get back here then. We'll figure something else out."

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

I hang up. Glaring at the glowing Core Relay I give the broken box a kick. "Stupid fucking thing," I growl at it. I have a bad feeling about all of this.

Suddenly, there were sirens, and concrete coating both my legs.

Panicking I angle my torso so I can see behind me. The D.U.P are here, guns aimed at me. "I'm so fucking screwed," I moan, starting to hyperventilate. I can't have a meltdown here, not now.

The soldiers are getting closer and closer, and I'm panicking twice as hard. I can feel my powers surging, like they're building up to burst at any moment. One soldier aims his rifle at my head. I close my eyes, shaking violently.

I can't die like this. _I can't die like this._

I let out a loud, ear piercing scream. And then everything goes white for a moment.

* * *

><p>"Are you seeing this brother?"<p>

"Yep, sure am."

A young man, accompanied by a slightly older man are standing up on a bridge, once patrolled by the D.U.P. Below them is the docks, but it's not the scenery they're looking at. A bright, almost bluish white light exploded behind the fishery, like a wave of energy. And then a floating young woman. She raises both hands, and then a flurry of snow and wind blows back the soldiers surrounding her, impaling them with ice shards and knocking a few into the harbour.

Then, the girl falls to the ground. The young man can only just make out her appearance. Maybe 5'6, long curly black hair and slightly tanned skin. Curvy in some places and roughly... late teens? Yep, he was going with late teens as his best guess.

She looks around wildly, slightly stumbling back, and then dissolves into a flurry of ice and snow, dashing away at an alarming speed.

The young man turns to face the other man. "I _so_ want that power as well," he says excitedly.

The man rolls his eyes. "Don't you have enough powers as it is already?" he grunts.

"Well… yeah, but – hey c'mon Reggie, she has freaking ice powers!"

"No Delsin, for God's sake," the man, Reggie replies, rubbing his face with his hands.

The younger man, Delsin, rolls his eyes and sighs. "Okay fine, no ice powers," he says with a slight teasing smile.

Reggie lowers his hands. "Thank you." He looks back out to the fishery. "You know, we should probably keep a look out from now on."

Delsin frowns. "What, for the girl?" he asks. "I thought you said no ice powers, man?"

"I know, and seriously Bro – no ice powers. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't cause trouble."

Delsin nods. "Good point. I'll keep an eye on her, first we gotta find out who she is though."

"I can handle that," Reggie replies, shoving his hands in his pockets. "In the meantime while I find out who the girl is, you head back to the Lantern District. You still need to learn how to handle your new video powers."

His brother nods in agreement. Giving each other a look, the brothers head their separate ways, one heading back the way they came, the other materializing glowing wings and soaring across the side of the bridge, gliding over the harbour. Meanwhile, Maisie Archer has no idea she's unwittingly caught the attention of the Rowe brothers.

* * *

><p><strong>Sooooo, it's been a while. I lost some motivation for a while to do this but since I've gotten myself back on track I've been able to start writing the next chapter. Thank you for reading! xx<strong>

**Feel free to point out any grammar problems and/or spelling errors.**


	6. Chapter Five: The Bannerman

After the massive failure at the docks I'm spending the day in a nearby park in Paramount. Dad was worried to death when I got back to the hotel, especially when I told him about my mental snap and my powers going haywire.

So now I'm banned from using my powers until he's figured out what we're doing next. And since my favourite past time of ice dashing up buildings and around the alleyways is now off-limits, I'm bored as hell.

I let out a loud sigh, scrolling through the list of songs on my phone. Picking the song "Lonely Girl" from Tonight Alive, I lean back into the trunk of the tree I'm sitting down against, looking around the park. There's a group of hipsters walking past chatting animatedly, a mother pushing a child in a pram, further to the right by a tech shop there's a dodgy exchange between a gangly looking man and from the looks of it a drug dealer.

I shake my head, looking away from the exchange and over to a nearby garden. The array of flowers were bright and lively in colour, remind me of the garden outside our former home in Idaho.

"You okay there, Kid?" A voice snaps me out of my reverie.

I jump, eyes going wide as I look to see who had spoken. My eyes land on a tall guy, who was currently standing with his arms crossed, a small amused smirk on his face. He has this denim jacket, a small amount of pins on the front, as well as a red beanie that covered his dark hair. "Yeah, I'm fine," I stutter back, still recovering from the fright.

He grins. "I gave you a fright didn't I?" I nod in reply, and his grin turns a bit bashful. "I'm sorry, it was an accident."

I shrug, getting to my feet. Yep, he's definitely tall – I'd say six foot. "It's okay, shit happens," I assure him with a tiny smile.

The young man glances around the park a moment before he looks back at me, chocolate brown eyes boring into my light blue ones. "So Kid, what's your name?"

I hesitate a little. He's just a random dude, it should be fine. "It's Maisie," I tell him, "and yours?"

He unfolds his arms, holding out a hand. The unique tattoo on his forearm is pretty cool, even though I have no clue what it's supposed to be. "It's Delsin." I stare at his hand for a bit, feeling awkward. "I don't bite, I swear," he adds with a cheeky grin.

Relaxing, I take his hand, shaking it. "Nice to meet you."

"So, what brings you here?" he asks. "You like hanging out by yourself under trees a lot?"

I give him a look. Great, this one was a smart-ass. "Very funny," I say sarcastically. "I'm bored and I've got nothing better to do, so yes, I was hanging out under a tree being a loner."

Delsin's mouth twitches to the side, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Hmmm, I think I can remedy that boredom."

Now I grin. "Oh really? And how do you plan on doing that?"

He grins back. "Follow me my dear lady and you'll find out for yourself."

* * *

><p>"So this is your idea of 'remedying boredom'?" I tease, as we stand on a rooftop. "Misdemeanour vandalism?"<p>

Delsin's currently tagging the side of this wall. So far it's a man sitting down with an easel. "Hey now, there is nothing wrong with a bit of misdemeanour vandalism in my opinion."

I watch him as he continues his work. He's concentrating hard, clearly a lot of effort goes into these tags of his. "So, are you from around here?" I ask, curious.

Delsin shakes his head. "Nope, Salmon Bay actually."

"Huh."

"And you?"

"I'm actually from Idaho," I say sheepishly. "My uh, dad and I moved here recently."

Delsin spray paints the final touches on the tag. The middle of the easel is blue, and small butterflies flying out from it. He lets out a happy sigh. "Idaho, huh?"

"Mhmm," I reply nonchalantly, admiring his work. "Great job, it isn't quite Banksy but it's still awesome."

He spins around and tries to give me a glare, but a smile fights its way there instead. "So Kid, what's your idea of fun?"

I roll my eyes. "I really wish you wouldn't call me that," I grumble. "I um, I read, and play video games."

"Really?" he asks, looking mildly surprised.

I nod, a confused look on my face. "Yes, _really_."

Delsin suddenly looks thoughtful. "You know, I have a friend that's super into video games and is a reclusive loner. You two would get along pretty well, maybe."

I shake my head. "Sorry I um, don't know about that idea."

Delsin sighs. "Alright alright, I get it – you wanna maintain your image of Broody Tree Girl, I understand."

A loud, snorting laugh escapes my mouth. "Gee, thanks."

Now he's looking like he's holding back a laugh of his own. "Did you just snort?"

"Maybe," I retort, feeling my face heat up.

The laugh escapes the tagger's mouth. "You did, admit it."

Blushing and grinning, I nod. "Okay fine, I snorted – happy?"

A satisfied smirk on his face, Delsin strolls over to a nearby bench on a small patch of grass – how they put grass on a rooftop I'll never know. He sits down, gesturing for me to sit next to him. I awkwardly shuffle over to the bench and sit down, crossing my arms.

We sit in silence for a bit. Then, Delsin looks me right in the eyes. "So, that was quite a show you put on earlier."

I blink. "What are you talking about?" I ask.

"Oh, you know, the ice show on the docks in the early hours of the morning," he replies, not breaking eye contact.

My heart stops. He _knows_. How does he know? "How do you know about that?"

He gives me a look. "It was all over the news this morning, another bio-terrorist attack on the docks, a whole squad of Dupes wiped out." I squirm uncomfortably under the look he's giving me, watching my reactions carefully. "Stuff like that gets around quick in this place, y'know."

I swallow hard. "So, you're going to turn me in?" I guess, sounding defeated.

Delsin sighs. "No, I'm not."

"How can I trust anything you say?" I say harshly, giving him a hard glare.

He says nothing. Instead, he looks away from me, and lifts his hand up for me to see. Swirls of smoke arise from his palm, trailing up along his forearm. Then he closes his palm into a fist, and the smoke dissolves.

"You're a Conduit?" I gasp, eyes wide as the moon.

He nods. "Yeah, and I'm here to help you, Maisie."

I nod, feeling shocked. "So, what else do you know about me?" I ask him.

Delsin lowers his hand. "That you had an accident with some kids in Grangeville, Idaho. And that you're on the run with your old man who's an ex-cop."

I frown. "How do you know he was a cop?"

"My brother," he states simply, "he's a cop, so it wasn't too hard to search you two up in the system." He pauses, and then adds, "And that Core Relay you found? That was a fake one."

"What?" I splutter.

"The D.U.P set it up as bait to get you out in the open," he informs me. "After what you did in Idaho, the assigned a patrol to track you down, lure you out and take you in to Curdun Cay."

I sink back into the bench. They had planned to take me in? My mind goes off-track, spiralling down into cluttered thoughts of "I should have known better" and "I'm such an idiot". Delsin sees my crestfallen expression and frowns. "Hey c'mon Kid," he quips in a cheery tone, clearly trying to lighten the mood. "They failed, so that's always a plus."

I give a tiny smile back. "Yeah, I suppose you're right," I admit grudgingly. I look out over the building, seeing the colour of the sky. The blue has faded, now replaced by an array of yellow, orange and a pinkish red tone. It's quite pretty, actually. Like one of those sunsets you see on postcards. "Shit, I didn't realise it's almost night time!" I yelp, jumping out of my seat slowly, eyes still trained on the sunset.

Delsin gets up as well, stretching his arms above his head. "Hey, pass me your phone for a second," he tells me, his arms falling back to his sides.

"Um, why do you want it?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

He tilts his head, a smirk appearing on his face. "I just want to put my number on it and maybe if you'll oblige, you can give me your number too."

I copy his stance, tilting my head and smirking. "I'd love to but y'know, I have a rule against giving my number to random dudes before a first date," I tease. A frown suddenly forms on my face, and I add, "Well, not that I've been on any dates but uh – damn it, I'm trying to make a joke but it's failing miserably!"

Delsin chuckles, shaking his head. We exchange numbers. After handing me my phone back, he says, "I better go, I need to meet someone soon."

I nod, yawning. "Yeah, I better go too; my dad will blow a gasket if I'm not back soon."

Delsin jogs over to the edge of the building. "'_Blow a gasket'_? How old are you, fifty?"

I give him my customary middle fingered salute. "Just go, Dumbass," I say, rolling my eyes and laughing.

He stops for a second, turning his head slightly so he's facing me. "Nice meeting you, Maisie. Take care." Then he dissolves into a trail of smoke and ash and disappears.

"Nice meeting you too, Bannerman," I sigh, before launching of the edge of the building in an icy rush.

* * *

><p><strong>First time writing Delsin, hopefully he doesn't seem too OOC.<strong>

**Feel free to point out any Grammar/ Spelling errors. Leave a review and tell me what you think so far, thank you to those who read this story :) x**


	7. Letter to Readers

As some of you know, I haven't updated in a long, long time.

Over the past year I've been busy with school, personal life, and health issues. I would love to re-continue this story, along with the other's I've written, but motivation is hard to come by for me these days.

I'm sorry nothing has been updated, or comments replied to, and so on. I will definitely try to continue this story, along with the Skyrim fic and that one Avengers fic of mine at some point because I want to see this finished, but for now I'm not even going to attempt to write anything until I'm settled.

Once again thank you to all of those who've supported this story over the months, years even I think? An update will come when I'm settled, a decent chapter. But for now I need to focus on getting myself sorted. And I'll be pasting this message on my other stories.

Regards,

The Author.


	8. Chapter Six: Shockwave

Angry is an understatement on how my dad felt when I got back and told him I've met Delsin Rowe. No, he was pissed. One, because it was a Conduit that could've potentially posed a threat. Two, because it was an older guy that could have been a pervert – his words, not mine.

So here I am, tagging along with him as I'm currently no longer allowed to go out on my own because "it's too dangerous".

"You want anything?" Dad asks as we stood in line at a Starbucks. Yep, a Starbucks. I feel so basic.

"Um… a chocolate muffin?" I reply, my answer sounding more like a question as I stare at the menu.

He nods. We wait in line for a solid five minutes, get our stuff and leave the damned place as soon as possible. There was a small table and chairs outside the store so we sat down there.

"So, what's the next thing on our to-do list?" I ask, biting into the muffin. God damn I love chocolate, you seriously can't beat it. Especially with the chocolate chips…

"Well," Dad began as he sipped his coffee, "our last plan was a bust. But on the bright side, you haven't showed up on the D.U.P.'s radar here. Just in Idaho."

"Hmm," is my only response. One, because I feel awkward and don't know what to say. Second, I am incapable of talking due to the mouthful of chocolaty goodness in my mouth.

We sit there, my dad doing something on his phone while I've finished my muffin. Suddenly, there's sirens. Not the Dupes' sirens but police sirens. Turning around in my chair I see a police car chasing some dudes running on the sidewalk. There were four of them; three in similar clothing, the fourth dressed in a button down black shirt and jeans. He looks kind of like a businessman.

"Those are Akurans," Dad says flippantly, letting out a sigh. "A Russian gang that picks on everyone and their mother."

"And the guy?" I ask.

"Probably someone that they pissed off," he concludes.

All of a sudden, there is the sound of gunfire. The fourth man running after the Akurans cried out in pain as the bullet hit him.

"Holy shit," I shout, standing up jerkily.

Dad grabs my arm. "May stay here," he warns me, an iron grip on my arm.

But I'm a Conduit. "The dude needs help," I reply back to him, just before I disintegrate into a flurry of ice as I dash towards the dude.

"Maisie!" Dad shouts. I hear him swear but it's faint over the commotion. The bypassers on the sidewalk have begun screaming and running.

I reach the man, crouching over him. "Just stay still," I tell him, my voice shaky. "I'm gonna get you out of here."

The man has to be early twenties. Black hair styled neatly, bright blue eyes. Stubble equally as dark as his perfect hair. Looks like he goes to the gym. He splutters out a bit of blood. "Trust me girl," he says in a pained voice. "You shouldn't be here."

The words make my heart skip a beat. Jesus Christ I've stepped in the shit again haven't I? "W-what do you mean?" I ask stupidly.

Just then I feel a bullet whiz past my head. I straighten up out of my crouch and fire an Ice spear at the man who fired the shot.

It finds it mark and he cries out. "Kill the Bio-terrorist bitch already!" he orders, the Russian accent making the word bitch sound a little harsher.

The other two men begin advancing on me.

Behind me and the bleeding man I hear more sirens. The D.U.P. this time.

I defend myself against the Akurans. As I'm Ice Dashing around the place, I notice my dad is with the bleeding man. The man is speaking urgently to him. My dad nods, sparing a worried glance at me before backing away, jogging down the street.

_Where the hell is he going?_

I feel a bullet lodge itself into my arm. I scream in pain, clutching the wound. Warm blood covers my fingertips, soon covering my hand. The two Akurans manage to grab me, dragging me by the back of my shirt and my hair to the wounded Akuran.

He says nothing. Standing up, he pulls out a gun and aims it directly to my forehead. "You shouldn't have stayed out of it, Freak."

I don't close my eyes. Instead I give him a piercing glare.

I definitely stepped in the shit again. A big, gun shaped piece of shit.

Then something really amazing – and bizarre – happens.

What looks like a fork of lightning hits him. I see him twitch and shudder violently as he falls to the ground. Glancing around wildly, I see that the same thing has happened to the other two.

Two strong hands pull me to my feet. It's the man from before, now standing, his eyes glowing a strange hue of blue and purple. "I'll explain once we get out of here. The Dupes are on the way and I really don't wanna be responsible for sending a kid to Curdun Cay. Follow me."

He dissolves into a stream of lightning down the street and up an alley. Shaking my head, I follow him as quickly as my powers can carry me.

(space)

He leads me back to the hotel Dad and I are staying at. _He and Dad must've planned this_, I ponder. _Why else would he come here of all places?_

Upon entering our hotel room, Dad immediately swoops in and gives me a bone-crushing hug. "Don't you ever fucking do that again, you hear me?"

"I'll try not to," I assure him. It's a weak assurance, considering that I may get into trouble again with my Conduit status. "I'm sorry I scared you."

He eases up, staring at my face for a bit. Then he turns his gaze to the stranger. "So, an explanation would be nice, considering you nearly got my daughter killed."

He nods, looking sullen. "Well, where do you want me to start?"

"How about we start with names first?" I interject, earning a disapproving glance from Dad.

The corner of his mouth twitches up for a second. "Alright. My name is Royce Winters, I'm a businessman slash gang affiliated asshole, and slash spoilt rich kid." He grins as he sees both mine and Dad's eyebrows raise in puzzlement. "I've already made introductions with your father, I caught that your name is Maisie?"

I nod. "Okay, now that we've got names down, why did all of that shit happen?"

"My people usually handle some deals with them. Recently I've found out that they hurt a couple of my guys pretty bad. One of them is in critical condition in hospital. So, naturally, I went after them."

"Did they know about your… abilities?" Dad asks.

Royce shook his head. "Nope. I guess they'll find out now though. I've managed to keep it under wraps for a couple years now."

"I see."

The three of us sit in silence for a bit. Then I speak to break the silence. "It seems I'm always asking this question; what happens now?"

Royce shrugs, running a hand through his hair. "Beats me. I guess I better get going." He then get up, straightening out his shirt.

"Hold it," says Dad, his voice stopping Royce in his tracks. "How do we know that you won't sell us out?"

Royce's face goes from serious to soft. "Your girl saved my life," he tells him, "and for that I'm grateful." He goes to grab the door handle, but doubles back and approaches me. I take note that he's very tall. _Why is everyone taller than me?_ I think ruefully. He pulls a card out of his pocket, handing it to me. "If you ever need a hand with anything again, let me know."

My eyes dart from his face down to the card. On it, his name and cell phone number. And in small purple writing is the words, "Seattle Saints."

I pocket the card, looking up at Royce with a half-smile. "Thanks."

Royce returns it, nodding at my father and making his way out the hotel room.

After the door closes, my Dad put a hand on my shoulder. "How's your arm?" he asks, concern on his face.

"It feels fine now," I tell him. "It healed up on the way back here."

Dad shakes his head. "This whole Conduit thing and you being indestructible is gonna take a lot of getting used to."

I laugh. "Yeah, I get the feeling."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I think we've earned ourselves a day off, yeah?" with saying that, he flops onto the sofa, groaning.

"Sounds like a plan," I agree, heading toward my room. "I'm gonna lie down, I feel a bit drained."

Drained is an understatement. Especially after a day of being shot at by crazy people.

I lay on the bed, hands behind my head. _I could really go for another one of those muffins right now."_

* * *

><p><strong>Hello. It's me.<strong>

**In all seriousness, I've come back with a new chapter! Thank you for all the patience, leave a comment if you like it.**


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